After last week’s fake tan furor, I learned that while most of you don’t mind the idea of a fake tan, you really can’t stand the smell.

That would be DHA, the chemical that interacts with the skin’s proteins to make you brown, or orange. When the DHA reacts with your skin, the distinct, slightly nauseating odor increases in power as the tan develops.

But if you insist on acquiring a fake tan pre-summer, here’s some good news for you: St. Tropez, a prestige self-tanning company, has revamped their line of self-tanners to include something called Aromaguard. The new technology neutralizes the smell caused by the DHA reaction by at least 70%, replacing it with a fruitier floral scent.

As a freckly Irish girl, I’ve embraced my paleness and managed to avoid the world of fake tanning. I had one ill-advised detour into it a few years ago, stained my sheets, dyed my palms orange, gagged at the smell and rocked streaky legs for two weeks before vowing to avoid all things orange forever. But in the name of research, I gave St. Tropez’s Everyday Perfect Legs a whirl to see if it really delivered on its sweet-smelling promise.

It’s a dual pump deal - one side’s gradual self-tanner, the other tinted bronzer. I applied a small amount of the tanner on my shins and smelled like flowers instead of chemicals. And my legs actually looked healthy and more gold than orange, which means it’s a definite pass in my book.

Am I about to slather it over my whole body? No way - I’m not high maintenance enough - but if I ever can’t stand my pasty legs, this is what I’ll reach for.

—MEGAN MCINTYRE

Lindsay Lohan’s about to make zillions selling the spray version, and Rachel Bilson’s just been signed by Jergen’s to help promote their Natural Glow lotion via a campaign about sun safety, but we’re still confused - why do some people persist in pursuing the fake tan?

From girls readying themselves for junior prom all the way up to Valentino, there is a huge population of fake tanners even though a fake tan is kind of like too-dark foundation cracking over acne - totally obvious, and therefore, totally besides the point.

Which begs the next question: What exactly is wrong with being pale? Because from the Karen Elsons to the Alek Weks of the world, the only skin tone that’s ever made us utter “ew” is the shallow orange of a Hollywood Tans devotee - and even that faint brown of fake tan dabblers doesn’t make them look like they just spent a week in Florida so much as an hour in front of some light bulbs.

Some people cite the slimming effects of a tan - but is looking like a cuticle stick really worth looking like a spring breaker?

So if it never looks real, seldom looks good, and pretty much always looks cheap (not to mention that some states are looking to ban the tanning bed version altogether for minors for fear of a link to melanoma), why do people do it?